Neil Young & Crazy Horse - RDS - 15th June

Catmologen

dixiefly wrote: »

I wasnt at Neil Young but I have been to Neil Young and Crazy Horse before indoors and enjoyed the gig but wouldnt put it on the same planet as a Bruce Springsteen gig. .

So you are forming an opinion on a gig you didn't attend based almost entirely on the comments on an unverified internet forum....

loveisdivine

adrian522 wrote: »

I love how everyone who thinks the Neil Young performance was bad gets advised to go listen to After the Gold Rush or go out and see Robbie Williams.

It's insulting in the extreme. Some people need to accept that it is possible for Neil Young to give a bad performance, which he did judging by some of the reviews on here and elsewhere.

I know its mad isn't it! I did enjoy the gig but apparently if you didn't then it means you're not really a music fan. Sure you must have just gone expecting "karaoke" and you would have been happier at Robbie Williams! P*ss off with all this NY snobbery.

I enjoyed it, well most of it, some people didn't. It doesn't make them any less of a fan of NY or of hard rock in general.

The fact that the negative reviews seem to be the majority suggests that something wasn't quite right.

Goreme

Red Alert wrote: »

Having seen Bruce Springsteen last year at the RDS, with crap sound, I decided to sit out this one... Neil Young at O2 in Dublin and at the Apollo in London were top notch.

Yes I was also at Bruce in the RDS for one the gigs and was standing centre in the pit about 8 meters back from the stage and the sound was low for the first four songs or so, then it improved, but god knows what the sound was like in the stands. From some of the comments... is there a noise restriction in the RDS arena?, if so they shouldn't be continuously conning people who buy stand tickets and get low volume.

Really...Jesus

(The show with Crazy Horse in the Point in 2001 remains the best.)

100% correct. It was an amazzzzzzing night.

He'll be back, he'll play indoors and we'll all be happy.

I'd still like a refund (for RDS show) from Aiken for the sound and big screen fiasco though!

dixiefly

Catmologen wrote: »

So you are forming an opinion on a gig you didn't attend based almost entirely on the comments on an unverified internet forum....

No, you read my post incorrectly....I said was comparing the Neil Young gig that I was at myself with Bruce gigs. It would be very difficult to compare at gig I wasnt at with anything though it does seem that some loved and some hated last saturday's gig for a variety of reasons.

Mental Mickey

worded wrote: »

He should play Slane

He already did. Back in 1993, with Pearl Jam as main support.

delbertgrady

Really...Jesus wrote: »

The show with Crazy Horse in the Point in 2001 remains the best.

Personally, I think the 1996 Crazy Horse gig has the edge on the 2001 one.

Really...Jesus

delbertgrady wrote: »

Personally, I think the 1996 Crazy Horse gig has the edge on the 2001 one.

Wasn't at the 96. The 01 concert was astounding. Think it was bcos it was my first time seeing them together live. That night Old Black raised the roof and spat us out the doors. Lost about two stone in sweat in the mosh. Wonderful!

Goreme

Really...Jesus wrote: »

Wasn't at the 96. The 01 concert was astounding. Think it was bcos it was my first time seeing them together live. That night Old Black raised the roof and spat us out the doors. Lost about two stone in sweat in the mosh. Wonderful!

Out of curiosity, were you also at the 2009 O2 gig (with his Chrome Dreams 2 band) also. If you were how would you compare the 2009 O2 show to the NY & Crazy Horse Point 2001 show? (I wasn't at the 2001 gig but was at the 2009 O2 gig).

Really...Jesus

Goreme wrote: »

Out of curiosity, were you also at the 2009 O2 gig (with his Chrome Dreams 2 band) also. If you were how would you compare the 2009 O2 show to the NY & Crazy Horse Point 2001 show? (I wasn't at the 2001 gig but was at the 2009 O2 gig).

Personally, the 01 punched way above the 09 gig, even though the 02 was a rocking show. Came away delighted in 09 - no complaints. The Point was mesmeric though. A cauldron. Young and The Horse were younger men then too, which has to have made a difference. He was on fire!

adrian522

Wow, Promoter blaming everyone but himself...

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/promoter-defends-neil-young-concert-1.1433821

The promoter of Saturday’s Neil Young concert said he flagged up weeks in advance that the artist was not going to play a greatest hits set.
Young’s concert with Crazy Horse at the RDS provoked a lot of disgruntlement from fans who agreed with the analysis of Irish Times reviewer Kevin Courtney that they had expected more from the singer-songwriter.
Courtney wrote: “Neil Young can be stubbornly self-indulgent at the best of times, yet fans still held out hope that he might dust off a few of his best-known tunes on this tour, with his long-standing band, Crazy Horse.
“But instead of Heart of Gold, The Needle & the Damage Done and Rockin’ in the Free World, the crowd got 20-minute-long guitar jams and only a handful of songs that you could consider classics.”
Peter Aiken said the setlists for his tour were all posted on Aiken Promotions website in advance. He pointed out the fourth song on the set, Walk Like a Giant from the new album Psychedelic Pill, which provoked criticisms because of its length, was the fourth song in every set he has done on the tour.
“Crazy Horse was billed as much as Neil Young. He’s done 38 albums. He’s not a greatest hits artist. Everybody wants to pigeon-hole everybody nowadays, but he’s done every kind of album,” he said.
“When we did three shows with Neil Young in Vicar Street, we had the same complaints. We were bombarded with people saying they didn’t like this or that, but it was flagged as a Greendale (album released in 2003) show, that’s what he was doing and he played the whole album.”
There were also reports that Young was booed. Many agreed with Courtney’s analysis with one fan describing the extended guitar feedback section, which was clocked by another fan at 14 minutes, as “aural sodomy”.
Another said Young lost most of the audience after the first two songs “I have never looked forward to a concert so much and been so disappointed by it as Saturday,” the fan wrote. One wrote they would not be coming back as much as they love his music. Still more criticised the sound with one describing it as akin to “listening in a car radio stuck in traffic”.
Others though defended Young pointing out that it was never billed as a solo show and his unpredictability was part of his stage shows over the years.
There was also criticism of the absence of screens in the outdoor arena, poor sound quality and 40 minutes queues for the beer.
Mr Aiken revealed that Young had big screens, but they malfunctioned because of the high winds which also played havoc with the sound, both of which are the artist’s responsibility.
“In good conditions, they would have been perfect. There was a lot of (guitar) feedback and there was sunshine, downpour and wind. It was a very difficult day for the sound people,” he said.
He also said it was the RDS that ran the bars at the concert and he had observed no queues for beer.

Econoline Van

Why didn't he just begin by apologising about the malfunctioning screens and the ****ty sound and take it from there rather than lambasting the moany "greatest hits" fans first?

ponceprhea

adrian522 wrote: »

Wow, Promoter blaming everyone but himself...

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/promoter-defends-neil-young-concert-1.1433821

The promoter of Saturday’s Neil Young concert said he flagged up weeks in advance that the artist was not going to play a greatest hits set.
Young’s concert with Crazy Horse at the RDS provoked a lot of disgruntlement from fans who agreed with the analysis of Irish Times reviewer Kevin Courtney that they had expected more from the singer-songwriter.
Courtney wrote: “Neil Young can be stubbornly self-indulgent at the best of times, yet fans still held out hope that he might dust off a few of his best-known tunes on this tour, with his long-standing band, Crazy Horse.
“But instead of Heart of Gold, The Needle & the Damage Done and Rockin’ in the Free World, the crowd got 20-minute-long guitar jams and only a handful of songs that you could consider classics.”
Peter Aiken said the setlists for his tour were all posted on Aiken Promotions website in advance. He pointed out the fourth song on the set, Walk Like a Giant from the new album Psychedelic Pill, which provoked criticisms because of its length, was the fourth song in every set he has done on the tour.
“Crazy Horse was billed as much as Neil Young. He’s done 38 albums. He’s not a greatest hits artist. Everybody wants to pigeon-hole everybody nowadays, but he’s done every kind of album,” he said.
“When we did three shows with Neil Young in Vicar Street, we had the same complaints. We were bombarded with people saying they didn’t like this or that, but it was flagged as a Greendale (album released in 2003) show, that’s what he was doing and he played the whole album.”
There were also reports that Young was booed. Many agreed with Courtney’s analysis with one fan describing the extended guitar feedback section, which was clocked by another fan at 14 minutes, as “aural sodomy”.
Another said Young lost most of the audience after the first two songs “I have never looked forward to a concert so much and been so disappointed by it as Saturday,” the fan wrote. One wrote they would not be coming back as much as they love his music. Still more criticised the sound with one describing it as akin to “listening in a car radio stuck in traffic”.
Others though defended Young pointing out that it was never billed as a solo show and his unpredictability was part of his stage shows over the years.
There was also criticism of the absence of screens in the outdoor arena, poor sound quality and 40 minutes queues for the beer.
Mr Aiken revealed that Young had big screens, but they malfunctioned because of the high winds which also played havoc with the sound, both of which are the artist’s responsibility.
“In good conditions, they would have been perfect. There was a lot of (guitar) feedback and there was sunshine, downpour and wind. It was a very difficult day for the sound people,” he said.
He also said it was the RDS that ran the bars at the concert and he had observed no queues for beer.

What an asshole/cocksucker

GCU Flexible Demeanour

<...> “Crazy Horse was billed as much as Neil Young. He’s done 38 albums. He’s not a greatest hits artist. <...>

This is a fair enough response to the Irish Times review. The review suggests the problem was folk expecting greatest hits. I didn't particularly expect that, and I feel many others shared my understanding that Crazy Horse would be out to rock the place.

And, like some have intimated, the problem wasn't particularly with the playlist. And, absolutely, some of the music was brilliant. I was delighted when I heard those lines "Look out Momma, there's a white boat coming up the river". I'd suspect the new album could be good too.

And the problem wasn't long episodes of amp feedback, per se. It was long episodes of disconnection from 90% of the audience. The skill is to communicate the excitement, and that was missing.

Not Now John

tommy2bad wrote: »

If the painter was Picasso?

He used to dig Picasso

Really...Jesus

The promoter of Saturday’s Neil Young concert said he flagged up weeks in advance that the artist was not going to play a greatest hits set.

(So what? The setlist was never the problem. This is an agenda being pushed to disguise the actual complaints about ****e sound and no big screens.)

Still more criticised the sound with one describing it as akin to “listening in a car radio stuck in traffic”.

(Correct...If you were in the stands)

There was also criticism of the absence of screens in the outdoor arena, poor sound quality and 40 minutes queues for the beer.
Mr Aiken revealed that Young had big screens, but they malfunctioned because of the high winds which also played havoc with the sound, both of which are the artist’s responsibility.
"In good conditions, they would have been perfect. There was a lot of (guitar) feedback and there was sunshine, downpour and wind. It was a very difficult day for the sound people," he said.

(And I'm Elvis. What utter nonsense.)

He also said it was the RDS that ran the bars at the concert and he had observed no queues for beer.

(Ha ha...This guy should have a regular spot on laugh out loud comedy gold!)

dharn

Judging by the number of drunken fools around the ques were too short

Really...Jesus

Suckers...

delbertgrady

I've already posted that I don't buy this argument that everyone moaning was expecting Harvest and After the Goldrush songs. A lot of people have genuine grievances with the substandard production values and Neil's cavalier/stubborn attitude on the night, and they cannot be dismissed.

However, about eight songs in the set COULD be described as "greatest hits", and anyone complaining because - in their eyes - he didn't do enough of what they would regard as well-known material really shouldn't have bought a ticket in the first place.
I don't dispute he was pushing his luck with the lengthy feedback, and - like any other heritage act who's touring a new album - it's only the diehards who'll know the new songs, but if the ONLY Neil Young album you owned was Weld, you'd have effectively known two thirds of the set.

This isn't quite the same as the infamous Yusuf Islam show in the O2 that caused genuine outrage because it wasn't a "Cat Stevens Greatest Hits" gig, as some of the promotional material was beginning to bill it in the days close to the show.

The problem partly lies in what individuals REGARD as being classics. You just can't please everyone. I was at a Springsteen gig where the guy beside me didn't know Jungleland, a cornerstone of his career and live show. I overheard a woman complain very passionately after a stunning Leonard Cohen show in Kilmainham that "he didn't do Suzanne", and she clearly (and inexplicably) felt short-changed as a result.

Someone like Bruce Springsteen always delivers a crowd-pleasing set, but - when scrutinised - the bulk of it is comprised of songs that you wouldn't necessarily hear on the radio, so they're hardly "hits". They're well-known album tracks, but the difference is that they're from albums that most people in the crowd will know and they're delivered in an engaging manner. Meanwhile, Neil Young is about a notch above Bob Dylan when it comes to audience interaction.

Aiken probably didn't help their case with the radio ads which showcased songs he was never likely to play, but that's normal practice, to draw people in with the most popular songs. Is it "false advertising"? That's open to debate. The current Elton John radio promos feature his version of Pinball Wizard, which he never does, but you can be almost guaranteed he'll play everything ELSE that appears in the ad. Will people moan if Billy Joel doesn't play everything featured in the ads for his O2 show? Of course not. So why has this Neil Young and Crazy Horse show caused such a furore?

I think one of the best comments made here was a few pages back when someone remarked that the same show, if done in the O2, with proper sound and production values, probably wouldnt have p***ed people off so much. But outdoor shows attract more fair-weather fans, and the expectations of a "day out" often leave people feeling disappointed when they don't get EXACTLY what they thought they'd get.

I'd have little or no sympathy for anyone who went along expecting wistful seventies tunes, 'cos that's just being woefully misinformed, but I really think they're a tiny minority. I think the show suffered from an unfortunate "perfect storm" of a bad venue, poor weather conditions, a lack of atmosphere due to very low ticket sales, and an artist who (characteristically and unsurprisingly) stubbornly refused to play ball in order to remedy the situation.

The Golem

Whatever about the complaints regarding feedback, poor sound, lack of screens etc., I find it consistently boggling that people give a **** about crowd interaction.

Goreme

adrian522 wrote: »

Wow, Promoter blaming everyone but himself...

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/promoter-defends-neil-young-concert-1.1433821

The promoter of Saturday’s Neil Young concert said he flagged up weeks in advance that the artist was not going to play a greatest hits set.
Young’s concert with Crazy Horse at the RDS provoked a lot of disgruntlement from fans who agreed with the analysis of Irish Times reviewer Kevin Courtney that they had expected more from the singer-songwriter.
Courtney wrote: “Neil Young can be stubbornly self-indulgent at the best of times, yet fans still held out hope that he might dust off a few of his best-known tunes on this tour, with his long-standing band, Crazy Horse.
“But instead of Heart of Gold, The Needle & the Damage Done and Rockin’ in the Free World, the crowd got 20-minute-long guitar jams and only a handful of songs that you could consider classics.”
Peter Aiken said the setlists for his tour were all posted on Aiken Promotions website in advance. He pointed out the fourth song on the set, Walk Like a Giant from the new album Psychedelic Pill, which provoked criticisms because of its length, was the fourth song in every set he has done on the tour.
“Crazy Horse was billed as much as Neil Young. He’s done 38 albums. He’s not a greatest hits artist. Everybody wants to pigeon-hole everybody nowadays, but he’s done every kind of album,” he said.
“When we did three shows with Neil Young in Vicar Street, we had the same complaints. We were bombarded with people saying they didn’t like this or that, but it was flagged as a Greendale (album released in 2003) show, that’s what he was doing and he played the whole album.”
There were also reports that Young was booed. Many agreed with Courtney’s analysis with one fan describing the extended guitar feedback section, which was clocked by another fan at 14 minutes, as “aural sodomy”.
Another said Young lost most of the audience after the first two songs “I have never looked forward to a concert so much and been so disappointed by it as Saturday,” the fan wrote. One wrote they would not be coming back as much as they love his music. Still more criticised the sound with one describing it as akin to “listening in a car radio stuck in traffic”.
Others though defended Young pointing out that it was never billed as a solo show and his unpredictability was part of his stage shows over the years.
There was also criticism of the absence of screens in the outdoor arena, poor sound quality and 40 minutes queues for the beer.
Mr Aiken revealed that Young had big screens, but they malfunctioned because of the high winds which also played havoc with the sound, both of which are the artist’s responsibility.
“In good conditions, they would have been perfect. There was a lot of (guitar) feedback and there was sunshine, downpour and wind. It was a very difficult day for the sound people,” he said.
He also said it was the RDS that ran the bars at the concert and he had observed no queues for beer.

... like I said in an earlier post - the promoter has NO SHAME

Catmologen

The Golem wrote: »

Whatever about the complaints regarding feedback, poor sound, lack of screens etc., I find it consistently boggling that people give a **** about crowd interaction.

Agreed, if you go to a gig to expecting the artist to make you feel better about yourself then there are probably some more serious issues at play. Crowd interaction is usually contrived and shallow in the extreme. Its just as rehearsed as the music is folks.

poundhound

Just a note on the Radio Ad's that people have mentioned.

As far as I remember, the ad featured "Hey Hey My My", "The needle and the damage done" and "Cinnamon girl".

He played 2 of those 3 songs, so the ad wasn't completely wide of the mark.

Keyzer

Catmologen wrote: »

So 8 minutes of feedback from a 2 hours and 20minute set ruined it for you, right....if you want to see a a show go see robbie Williams or sprinsteen, if you want rock and roll ny and crazy horse. The choice is yours!

You decided to filter out everything else in my post and focus on this one comment. The fact that you suggest I go see Robbie Williams after I stated that I rate Neil Young almost as highly as Dylan further emphasizes that you just focused in on one part of my post. I also said that Springsteen is a completely different act.

I am a huge Neil Young fan (with and without Crazy Horse). I think the man is a legend, a genius and a massive influence on so many others.

That said, I didn't pay €76 to listen to feedback and noise for 10 minutes. I could do that myself by strangling a cat. Many people were whistling and booing when he insisted making such a din.

In this day and age, the gig was not value for money. I'll never go see him again.

The gig was poor in every sense which I've already commented on.

furiousox

Think I've heard it all now.
Someone said to me today the only song they recognised was 'Blowin' In The Wind' and went on to say "..he didn't even play horse with no name".
I thought they were joking but they weren't! :eek:

Really...Jesus

furiousox wrote: »

Think I've heard it all now.
Someone said to me today the only song they recognised was 'Blowin' In The Wind' and went on to say "..he didn't even play horse with no name".
I thought they were joking but they weren't! :eek:

Fabulous.

Really...Jesus

delbertgrady wrote: »

I've already posted that I don't buy this argument that everyone moaning was expecting Harvest and After the Goldrush songs. A lot of people have genuine grievances with the substandard production values and Neil's cavalier/stubborn attitude on the night, and they cannot be dismissed.

However, about eight songs in the set COULD be described as "greatest hits", and anyone complaining because - in their eyes - he didn't do enough of what they would regard as well-known material really shouldn't have bought a ticket in the first place.
I don't dispute he was pushing his luck with the lengthy feedback, and - like any other heritage act who's touring a new album - it's only the diehards who'll know the new songs, but if the ONLY Neil Young album you owned was Weld, you'd have effectively known two thirds of the set.

This isn't quite the same as the infamous Yusuf Islam show in the O2 that caused genuine outrage because it wasn't a "Cat Stevens Greatest Hits" gig, as some of the promotional material was beginning to bill it in the days close to the show.

The problem partly lies in what individuals REGARD as being classics. You just can't please everyone. I was at a Springsteen gig where the guy beside me didn't know Jungleland, a cornerstone of his career and live show. I overheard a woman complain very passionately after a stunning Leonard Cohen show in Kilmainham that "he didn't do Suzanne", and she clearly (and inexplicably) felt short-changed as a result.

Someone like Bruce Springsteen always delivers a crowd-pleasing set, but - when scrutinised - the bulk of it is comprised of songs that you wouldn't necessarily hear on the radio, so they're hardly "hits". They're well-known album tracks, but the difference is that they're from albums that most people in the crowd will know and they're delivered in an engaging manner. Meanwhile, Neil Young is about a notch above Bob Dylan when it comes to audience interaction.

Aiken probably didn't help their case with the radio ads which showcased songs he was never likely to play, but that's normal practice, to draw people in with the most popular songs. Is it "false advertising"? That's open to debate. The current Elton John radio promos feature his version of Pinball Wizard, which he never does, but you can be almost guaranteed he'll play everything ELSE that appears in the ad. Will people moan if Billy Joel doesn't play everything featured in the ads for his O2 show? Of course not. So why has this Neil Young and Crazy Horse show caused such a furore?

I think one of the best comments made here was a few pages back when someone remarked that the same show, if done in the O2, with proper sound and production values, probably wouldnt have p***ed people off so much. But outdoor shows attract more fair-weather fans, and the expectations of a "day out" often leave people feeling disappointed when they don't get EXACTLY what they thought they'd get.

I'd have little or no sympathy for anyone who went along expecting wistful seventies tunes, 'cos that's just being woefully misinformed, but I really think they're a tiny minority. I think the show suffered from an unfortunate "perfect storm" of a bad venue, poor weather conditions, a lack of atmosphere due to very low ticket sales, and an artist who (characteristically and unsurprisingly) stubbornly refused to play ball in order to remedy the situation.

Great post. Concur 100%. Close the thread. It's done!

Flysfisher

Ive read all the posts here and one thing I notice is that I can't get this crap about some people on here saying that loads went along to hear the classics!!
Who actually said that? It's an incorrect assumption.

That stuff from Aiken is pathetic.

And by the way, don't want to hear any more about Springsteen or Robbie Williams.

delbertgrady

Flysfisher wrote: »

Ive read all the posts here and one thing I notice is that I can't get this crap about some people on here saying that loads went along to hear the classics!!

Well they hardly went along to hear T-Bone and Kinda Fonda Wanda.

Really...Jesus

Flysfisher wrote: »

Ive read all the posts here and one thing I notice is that I can't get this crap about some people on here saying that loads went along to hear the classics!!
Who actually said that? It's an incorrect assumption.

That stuff from Aiken is pathetic.

And by the way, don't want to hear any more about Springsteen or Robbie Williams.

Bravo!